President Moon Jae-in waves from a Hyundai Motor's autonomous fuel-cell electric vehicle while at a motorway service station in southern Seoul in this Feb. 2 file photo. / Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyukPYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province ― Hyundai Motor will allow visitors to venues for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games to experience the carmaker's next-generation fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) equipped with self-driving function.According to the world's fifth-largest automotive company, visitors to the host city can ride in autonomous NEXO FCEVs for free after on-site reservations.The sport utility vehicle (SUV) styled autonomous car is the same model offered to President Moon Jae-in for his 10 kilometer test drive between a motorway service station in southern Seoul and the Pangyo interchange in Gyeonggi Province last week.Two days after the President's test drive, Hyundai Motor successfully finished another test. The autonomous vehicle travelled the distance of 190 kilometers from Seoul to this alpine resort city without accident.The car was also offered to the media this week, during the NEXO Media Experience Day in PyeongChang.Installed with stereo cameras, radar and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors, the autonomous vehicle was driven almost perfectly on a 7-kilometer route in the city.A driver was just sitting in the driver's seat, but the car autonomously navigated to the destination.This showed that the company has advanced a step closer to launch its future autonomous models in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) Level Four in vehicle automation.There are six SAE levels, from zero to five, in motor vehicle driving automation systems. Level Four pertains to cars that can drive and travel on their own but sometimes with human drivers' assistance under certain weather and road conditions. SAE's Level Five is fully automated.During the 10-minute ride, the self-driving car seemed to regard safety as the top priority, unlike human drivers. The car always kept to the speed limit of the road, 50 kilometers per hour, following the lane. At a roundabout, the car drove on the inside lane, cautiously avoiding other vehicles. It also stopped for a red light, assuring a safe distance from the car in front. Moving into the turn lane, the car autonomously clicked on the turn signal and then turned left, but not before the car in front of it moved on."Because the car is designed to be driven safely, it may cause inconveniences to other drivers who do not obey traffic regulations," a Hyundai Motor researcher said who was sitting in the driver's seat.However, the self-driving vehicle passed other cars parked along the street and those going slowly. It autonomously put on turn signals and changed lanes.The car successfully passed through a dark tunnel as well. The Hyundai Motor researcher explained that sensors can sense nearby obstacles in the dark, allowing the car to keep to its lane.In addition to the self-driving function, the vehicle is also equipped with KT's fifth-generation (5G) network telecommunications and rear-seat entertainment systems.Through a touch screen, passengers sitting in the rear seat can enjoy various functions, including home connect, chatbot, mood lighting, karaoke and medical consultations.The home connect function allows passengers to remotely control lights and home appliances in their houses. A Hyundai Motor official demonstrated the remote control function, by turning on and off products in the company's booth at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.The chatbot relays such information as weather when passengers ask about it verbally or in writing. As the carmaker cooperated with a U.S. company to develop the program, the chatbot is only offered in English for now.The karaoke system features video clips of K-pop singers, which enable passengers to sing along with them. For this, Hyundai Motor collaborated with SM Entertainment.The medical consultation function uses a sensor that can measure feelings of passengers. Those who want further consultations can talk with a consultant at Asan Medical Center in Seoul.Hyundai Motor expects the hydrogen-powered eco-friendly autonomous vehicle to draw global attention to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and to show the competitiveness of the nation in the development of futuristic vehicles.